Five Ways
by FluffyArmy
Summary: Where Evergreen realizes something is amiss with the way Laxus is flirting. Rated T for talk of adult experiences and cursing.


Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or it's characters, all rights go to Hiro Mashima

A/N: Well I think my first one shot went over pretty well and I got bored and this happened. So...enjoy!

Told third person, past tense, with the focus on Evergreen. ENjoy!

~~~oOo~~~

Evergreen could say, without a doubt, that Laxus was the most amazing person in all of Fiore, and most likely in the rest of the world too. What Evergreen could also say was that Laxus was the biggest flirt she had ever come in contact with.

Something that struck her as so completely Laxus was the way he flirted. He could make a girl feel like she was the most important being in the world through a few simple, easy techniques. One, he wouldn't smile unless he was complimenting her. It was just one little thing that would drive girls crazy, how they could seemingly light up his world by being beautiful or smart-which of course they didn't because he was Laxus Dreyar and simply the most diving mage to walk the face of the planet. Two, he would be close to the girl without being too close. He would sit next to her, but wouldn't be so close that their thighs were touching or that sort of thing. It was a sign of respect that was hard to come by in a bar of drunk fools, but it also made whatever girl that happened to be on the receiving end of his flirtations more willing to stay for a while, if only to draw him closer. Three, he would never kiss her until she agreed to leave the bar with him. It, again, made the girl want to draw him in and be more willing to let him take her somewhere. Four, he refused to do it outside behind the building or in the bathrooms. He took her to a hotel, making her feel like it was less of a guy wanting to get off and more of a mutually wanted activity. Five, and possibly the most important on the list, was that he never stopped using his hands. At any opportunity, he would touch her hand or brush a strand of hair off her face. He would cup her chin gently like he was going to kiss her, then compliment something about her and let go. It worked like a charm, adding to the feeling that she was the most important girl in the world.

It was no secret that Laxus flirted with all the girls in the Guild, even though he would never take any of them home or to some hotel. He flirted with them so often that nobody thought anything of it. It was as common as a fight between Natsu and Gray or Erza eating strawberry cake. It was also not a secret that he liked his alcohol, giving him opportunity to flirt with Mirajane all day long.

Evergreen liked Mirajane, she really did. Even though Laxus shamelessly flirted with her all day long, instead of telling him to shut up, she would politely thank him for his compliment or gently directs his attention away from her. She was all smiles and had the patience of a saint.

Evergreen always kept an eye on Laxus while he was flirting, making sure that the girl never tried anything sneaky-because Laxus would never deign to do such a thing-and that Laxus wasn't in need of someone to pull him out of the situation because he had lost interest but didn't want to be rude. It was her duty as the only female of the Raijinshuu. She did it so often that she had started to subconsciously do it at the Guild as well when she had nothing to do

One random afternoon, Evergreen found herself watching Laxus once again flirt with Mirajane. She was turning all of his comments away politely, and thanking him when he complimented her. Evergreen kept a mental list of Laxus' flirting style, though she never actually took the time to really run through it. But, this afternoon, something was off.

Laxus wasn't flirting like Laxus. for the first time ever, Evergreen found herself running through the list. Smile only when complimenting. Check. Keep his distance. Check. No kissing. He had no intention of taking her anywhere, so, check. Don't take her to some alley. Again, they weren't going anywhere, so, check. Using his hands at every opportunity. Ah. There it was.

Laxus was keeping his hands on his side of the bar. He was holding his beer in one hand and the other hand was flat on the bar. Evergreen had never taken much stock into Laxus' personal life. It didn't matter what he did in his free time because he undoubtedly deserved it. She didn't care with whom he flirted, and she didn't care who he took anywhere as long as she didn't seem to have bad intentions.

Evergreen had never really paid close attention to how often Laxus would frequent bars to pick up a girl, but she was trying to remember the last time he had. It had been a while, a few months if she was remembering correctly. That in and of itself was odd. Laxus usually hit the bars three to four times a week.

How long had it been since Laxus had started keeping his hands to himself? Less than a month, because that was the last time she'd found herself keeping an eye on him around the guild. But, still. The fact that he was breaking his flirting rule meant that he was serious for once.

How Evergreen had missed these subtle changes, she had no idea. But she knew now, and she wasn't going to rest until she found out if her suspicions were correct. Standing from her table, she marched over to Laxus and unceremoniously dragged him away from the bar.

"Evergreen, what the hell?" he spat, angry at the interruption. Well, she'd already made him angry. She figured that she'd might as well just come out and ask it.

"Are you and Mirajane going out?" she asked, crossing his arms. She watched his face carefully, his tell was that he would barely nip his bottom lip once if he was lying or hiding something. Something you wouldn't notice if you didn't pay close attention.

"No," he answered, his face looking a little downcast before returning to its previous state so quickly Evergreen almost thought she'd imagined it.

"Well, do you want to?" she demanded.

"Tch," he responded, looking away. That was all the proof she needed.

"Y-you...she…"

"Aw, shut up, Ever. Don't tell anyone about this, you hear?" he asked, leaning close to her. Evergreen visibly gulped before nodding. "Good. Because I don't want to fuck this up. I don't want to fuck _her_ up. She's really something, you know?" he started, glancing at the barmaid quickly before running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm sure she is," Evergreen nodded.

"And you won't tell anyone?"

"Not if you're serious about this, Laxus. Because you know that I think you're amazing, and that I don't care when you sleep with a new girl every night. But I do care about people intentionally leading someone else on, and if you're doing that to her, we're going to have some problems."

"I would never lead her on. If she was just some girl...if she was just some girl I'd drag her to the back hallway and whisper things in her ear that'd make her red from head to toe. But she's not. And I don't know how to tell her that, so...I just need you to keep quiet. She's the most serious thing that's happened to me."

"Okay, then."

~~~oOo~~~

A/N: I've always really liked the idea of a guy falling for a girl first, then she inevitably falls too. I dunno, it's always seemed right to me. probably because I'm a girl and I've seen my fair share of girl drama over a crush (I've experienced it myself, too) and I just am so obsessed with a guy feeling the same way, all nervous and admiring. Anyway, tell me what you thought?


End file.
